Mammography topics

How to Reduce the Interval Cancer Rate in Mammography Screening

The superiority of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) compared to digital mammography (DM) for cancer detection in screening is undoubted, as indicated by the results from several large, prospective screening trials. The Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial involving 15000 women in Malmö, Sweden is unique in the sense that it investigated wide-angle, 1-view DBT with reduced compression and still gave results on par with more extensive imaging protocols in other trials. The trial showed an increase in cancer detection of 34% and acceptable recall rates. Our most recent results show that the rate of interval cancers decreased after screening with DBT compared to a large, contemporary control group screened with digital mammography. This is important information adding to the growing evidence of DBT contributing to even a more effective breast cancer screening. The interval cancer cases in the trial can be used to learn more about DBT screen-reading.

Learning objectives:

• The interval cancer rate was reduced in the Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial compared to a control group screened with only digital mammography.
• The characteristics of the interval cancers were in general non-favorable.
• Retrospective cancer visibility might be a challenge when introducing DBT.